in a passive clinch as soon as the going gets tough. Back in the 2000s, two-time heavyweight titleholder and perennial contender John Ruiz earned the sobriquet “Huggy Bear” on boxing message boards due to his patented one- two-clinch combinations before mauling on the inside. Floyd Mayweather Jr. became adept at utilizing the clinch to nullify the action in fights as his career progressed, and as his star continued to rise, it was a tactic that he was increasingly allowed to get away with. In Mayweather’s rematch with Jose Luis Castillo in December 2002, eight months after his highly controversial points win over the teak-tough Mexican, referee Joe Cortez would frequently separate the boxers from the clinch while Castillo was still punching on the inside and Mayweather was simply holding on, effectively penalizing the boxer who was trying to make the fight. Five years later against Ricky Hatton, Mayweather had honed it into an art. With Cortez operating again as the third man in the ring, he was even more harsh on Hatton than he had been on Castillo. Any chance that Hatton had of victory, as slim as it may have been, evaporated as soon as the American referee was given the assignment. We have seen it time and time again in the modern era. Get hurt, grab your opponent. Lean on him and soak up the clock. Clear your head. Wait for the referee to call break, then reset. Rinse and repeat. But it wasn’t always this way. There was a time when boxers were taught to box their way out of trouble. These days, they are taught to clinch. So how did we get here? “It’s crept into the sport over a period of time,” said veteran Australian referee Brad Vocale, who once disqualified Argentine Jose Alberto Clavero in his fight against Paul Briggs for failing to engage. “Trainers weigh up their fighter’s ability, where they’re maybe not that fit or maybe not that skilled, and they use grappling or holding, if you want to call it that, as a means of defense. The boxer might be doing it a little bit hard, so they’ll just grab ahold of their
Former heavyweight standout John Ruiz, known for excessive holding, applies a headlock to Kirk Johnson during their WBA title bout in 2002.
man sought to tie up when the going got tough, instead opting to fight their way out of trouble. Credit must also be given to referee Harvey Dock who, at the merest sniff of a clinch, broke the fighters up. It was refreshing to watch. Unfortunately for boxing fans, fights like this are the exception to the rule. Far too often, boxers are permitted to wrap up their opponents
break first. Ortiz suffered two flash knockdowns but ultimately prevailed by majority decision to keep his undefeated record intact. It was the first time he had been extended the distance in 22 outings. The crowd in Las Vegas lapped it up. It’s not often boxing fans get to witness an instant classic. The lack of holding on the inside is what made the fight so special. Neither
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